Loving Him Was Red
by TylrChynnSchlr
Summary: Alex has been on tour for 8 months, and when she hears that Mia has returned to Tree Hill, she can't help but feel that maybe she has the right idea. Meanwhile, when Mia tries to win Chase's affections, she develops feelings for someone else. Story inspired by Taylor Swift's album, "RED".
1. Red

**(A/N):** _Okay, so this story takes place after season nine, but before the time jump. So about eight months after the cafe scene in the finale. And the main characters in the story are Alex, Mia, Chase, and Chris, but some of the other characters will appear every once in a while._

_As you know, this story was inspired by Taylor Swift's album, "RED". Each chapter is inspired by, and named after, a song on the album. There are 19 songs, and therefore, there will be 19 chapters! I already have most of the story outlined but I'm not exactly sure how it's going to end. Hopefully though, I'll be able to satisfy Chia, Chalex, Chria, and Chralex shippers at one point or another in the story. I honestly don't know which ones will be endgame, so I guess I'll just see what you guys respond to and go from there!_

_Oh, and just a note, the chapters will not be in the same order the songs are on the album. And also, you don't need to know any of the songs to understand or enjoy the story. Them being named after the titles of the songs just seemed liked a nifty idea. :) So... enjoy!_

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**Chapter 1: Red**

Alex belted the last note of the final song in her set and bowed her head to the roar of the crowd. She looked at the audience and couldn't help but smile as they cheered for her. She took the microphone off the stand and spoke into it loudly, so she could be heard over the fanatic audience, "Thank you, Atlanta! You guys are amazing!" Alex took one last look at the crowd, smiled, and walked off stage. People from the label, the crew, and the band were all waiting for Alex to finish her set to congratulate her. Everyone complimented Alex on her performance and she thanked them, "I had a really great time up there. I'm kind of sad, though." Alex turned to her manager, "I only have a few performances left until the tour is over and then..."

"I know," Mike, Alex's manager, responded. "I could talk to someone at the label to see if we could get you an extension on the tour or something if you want."

Alex pursed her lips and showed a face of disinterest, "You don't have to do that."

"You could always talk to your agent. You've been talking about how you would like to do another movie."

"Maybe."

Mike sighed, "I know you don't want to go back to Tree Hill, but nobody is saying you have to. Once the tour is over, you could move back to L.A. and get a house. Maybe settle down or something?"

Alex smiled half-heartedly, "You know I'm not the settle-down type."

"I know."

"And anyway, I'll be fine. I'm just gonna really miss touring and being on the road."

"Well, like you said, we still have a few shows left." Alex nodded. "It's gonna be okay," Mike reassured her.

She nodded again, "Okay, well, I better go change and get back on the bus..." Alex started to walk off but Mike stopped her. "Yes?" Alex turned around, a little impatient.

"Don't you want to hang back a bit and say hi to your fans once the show's over?"

"I'm pretty sure most of these people aren't here to see the opening act, Mike."

"Well... you never know."

Alex sighed, "I'm actually kind of tired, I think I'm just gonna go change, okay?"

Mike inhaled sharply, "Okay."

Alex walked into her dressing room and put on much more casual clothing. It wasn't until she finished getting dressed when she noticed the vase of red roses on the vanity. She walked up to it to look at the card. It read:

_I know you did amazing, tonight. Wish I was there._

"No name..." Alex observed. She wasn't sure who sent the flowers, but she was pretty positive it wasn't who she wished it was. She figured it was just one of the guys she had met and flirted with at one of the shows.

Alex took one last look at the flowers and decided to leave them behind. She walked out of the dressing room and out the back door to get on the tour bus.

**xxxxx**

Mia walked into the Red Bedroom studio with a bottle of water, frustrated. "Okay! Let's try this again..." Mia murmured to herself. She pushed the talk back button and spoke into the microphone, "All right, Chris... we have to sing it again."

Chris Keller leaned back and whined, "I don't want to! I am so tired."

Mia groaned, "I don't want to, either! But I just gave Haley the demo and she wants us to record it again."

"Why? What's wrong with the demo you gave her?"

"I don't know," Mia sighed, "why don't you ask Haley yourself?"

Chris stood up and walked out of the recording booth, "I'm gonna do just that! Where is she?!"

"She - "

Before Mia could finish, Haley walked in. "Where's who?" Everyone was silent. Haley gave Chris a puzzled look, "Yes?"

Chris looked down, "Uh..."

Haley turned to Mia, "What's going in here? Why aren't you guys recording?"

Mia sighed, "Because... Chris Keller here, is being a baby and doesn't want to."

Haley turned to Chris, "Why not?"

"Because jeez Haley," Chris groaned, "we've recorded it a hundred times already."

"Yeah, and you're gonna keep recording it until you get it right."

Mia looked at Haley, "Come on Haley, what's wrong with all the demos we gave you?"

Haley shrugged, "Nothing was _wrong_ with them... it's just... they could have been better. You guys - "

"All right, all right. Listen," Chris interrupted, "Chris Keller has recorded all he can today. It's not my fault if Miss Lips can't hold her own on our duet."

"Excuse me?!" Mia asked, incredulously.

"You heard me." Chris snapped back.

"God! You are so arrogant! _I_ can't hold my own?!"

"Uh, yeah, I believe that's what I said!"

Haley stepped in to put space between Chris and Mia, "Whoa, okay. Tensions are high. I get it, guys. I know it's late, but... calm down for a second, okay?" Mia stepped back and so did Chris. They both nodded. "All right, you two have been in the studio for a while today... you guys can just come back tomorrow to record the duet. Until then, both of you just go home and rest okay? You work too hard." Haley smiled, "I'll help you both with the duet tomorrow, all right?"

Mia sighed, "All right. Thanks, Haley. I'll see you tomorrow. I gotta go."

Haley smiled as she waved Mia off, "Bye, honey."

Once Chris was sure Mia left, he looked at Haley, "Okay, Haley... can you tell me again why Chris Keller _has_ to record a duet for his album? And can you also tell me why it has to be with_ her_?"

Haley sighed, "I already told you, Chris. The label wants you to have a duet on your album to merge fanbases with another artist. And you have to do it with Mia because she has to have a duet, and the label thinks you two have nice chemistry."

"Yeah, but I still don't know why it has to be with her. Chris Keller has chemistry with every girl. They really couldn't have picked anyone else?"

Haley shrugged, "Sorry. I know it's probably weird for you to sing a duet with Chase's ex-girlfriend, but - "

"Oh, no. Believe me, that's not the issue here. Trust me, it's much more weird for him."

"Yeah... I bet it is. How is he taking it?"

"Chase?" Haley nodded. "Yeah, he could be a lot better. Ever since she came back he's been kind of weird." Haley sighed.

**xxxxx**

Mia walked out of the studio and into TRIC, which was seemingly empty. Mia was about to leave until she heard a noise. She walked up to the bar and looked around, "Chase?"

"Yeah?" Chase answered as he walked out of the back room with some boxes.

Mia smiled and sighed in relief, "I thought I heard something."

"Oh, that was just me. Sorry."

"It's okay. I just didn't think you would be here. It's pretty late."

Chase looked at his wristwatch, "Yeah... I'm just closing up."

"Well, I'm glad you're here, because I need to talk to someone... unless, you're almost done?"

Chase looked at the bar, "Kind of, but if you need to talk..."

"Really?" Mia asked.

"Of course," Chase reassured her.

Mia pushed herself up onto a bar stool, "Thanks."

"Anytime." Chase smiled. "Um, do you want me to make you a drink... or something?"

Mia hesitated, "Uh, no... I'm good. I don't want to be any trouble."

"It's no trouble."

Mia smiled, "I'm fine, Chase."

"Oh. Okay. Uh... anyway... what did you want to talk about?"

"All right, well, you know how I have to sing a duet with Chris?"

Chase nodded as he began to pack up some boxes with bottles and glasses, "Mhmm..."

"Well," Mia sighed, "It's not like Chris is..._ impossible _to work with, but... oh, my God! You know? He's just so... ugh."

Chase laughed, "Yeah, I... I know what you mean."

"And anyway, we have to sing this duet or the label won't take either of our albums which is just... outrageous."

"I'm sorry..." Chase said, not really knowing what else to say.

Mia sighed, "It's fine, but I just really want to record this duet and we keep trying to record it, and whenever I give Haley the demo to listen to it, she always gives it back because it's not good enough. And... Chris thinks I'm the problem."

Chase stopped packing up boxes and looked at Mia, "I don't think you're the problem."

"Well, Chris seems pretty sure that he's not doing anything wrong."

"That's just how he is. I really doubt you're doing anything wrong, Mia."

Mia looked at Chase and smiled, "Thanks, Chase." He smiled back. "Um, do you need any help closing up?"

Chase thought for a second, "No... I think I got it."

"All right, well, I better get going. I'll... see you tomorrow. Bye, Chase."

"Bye, Mia." Mia stepped off the barstool and started to walk out. Chase called after her, "Oh, Mia?" She turned around to face him. "I, uh... I just wanted to say that I'm... I'm really glad you came back. I missed you."

Mia smiled, "I missed you, too."

Chase smiled back and watched Mia as she walked away. Once she was gone, Chase continued packing up the boxes when Chris and Haley walked out of the studio. Chase looked over at the two as they were having a conversation.

Haley sighed, "I don't care, Chris. You're singing the duet. With Mia. And that's final. And anyway, it's not even up to me, so if you wanna argue with someone, argue with someone else."

Chris groaned, "Fine, fine! Have it your way."

Haley rolled her eyes and tried to end their conversation, "Bye, Chris. I'll see you tomorrow." Haley walked away from Chris and passed the bar, "You too, Chase."

Chase waved, "Later, Haley."

Chris watched Haley as she left and walked up to the bar to talk to Chase, "Can you believe that?"

"Believe what?"

"Haley just told me that if I don't sing this duet with Mia, the label is gonna fire me."

"So what? Just sing the duet."

Chris sighed, "No, no. You don't understand. Chris Keller doesn't sing duets."

"And why _doesn't_ Chris Keller sing duets?" Chase asked, routinely.

"No one can keep up with me. I mean, what, I spent all day trying to sing this duet with Mia and we have gotten nowhere."

"Yeah, well... maybe you're the problem."

Chris leaned back, "Excuse me?"

"Nothing, it's just... Mia is really talented, I don't think she's the reason it's taking you guys so long to get a good demo."

"And you're saying _I'm _the reason it's taking us so long?" Chase didn't say anything. "Ohhh, I get it."

Chase sighed, "Get what?"

"You like her."

"Who? Mia? Of course I like her, we're friends."

Chris laughed, "No, I mean you like her the way an ex-boyfriend likes their ex-girlfriend after _she_ broke up with _him_."

"We broke up almost three years ago, Chris." Chris nodded. "And besides... even if I _did_ feel that way about her... she doesn't feel the same way, so - "

"Oh, my God."

"What?"

"You like her."

"I don't." Chase said firmly, trying to drop the subject.

Chris held up his hands as way to surrender, "All right, okay, you don't like her." Chris sighed and looked around, "Anyway... this place is kinda dead so I'm gonna take off. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Later," Chase replied.

**xxxxx**

Alex was sitting on the tour bus reading a magazine when someone knocked on the door. "Who is it?" Alex asked without looking up from her magazine.

"It's Mike."

Alex sighed, "Come in!" Mike turned the doorknob and opened the door. Alex looked over at him as he walked in and noticed he was carrying the vase of roses she left in her dressing room. "Mike, did you buy me those?" She asked, doubtful.

"Uh, no, but there's no name on the card so I don't know who did."

"Hmm, well, thanks for bringing them here."

"Any time..." Mike walked over to Alex and sat down. "How are you holding up?"

Alex shrugged, "Could be better, I guess. I don't know. I've been sitting here thinking about what I'm gonna do when we're done touring. I don't want to go back to Tree Hill, but I do miss all of my friends. I kind of cut off my ties with all of them when I left, and I kind of feel bad about it."

"You need to do whatever feels right."

Alex shook her head, "I don't think any decision I make will feel right."

"I'm sure you'll figure something out. Anyway, Jim's gonna start the bus up in a few minutes and then we're leaving."

"Okay," Alex smiled, "thanks for letting me know."

Mike got up and walked off the bus, when he did, Alex pulled out her phone. She looked through her phonebook, it had gotten so much bigger since she had gone on the road. She didn't even know half these people. She sighed and kept scrolling until she reached Quinn James. Alex sighed, she hadn't spoken to Quinn and months, she didn't even know if she was awake, but she decided to call her anyway. If anyone was gonna help her make the right decision, it would be Quinn.

The phone started to ring. It rang six times and went to voice mail. Alex sighed and dialed again. It rang five times and Quinn picked up, "Hello? Who is this?"

"Alex."

"Alex?"

"Yeah, Alex Dupre, don't you remember me?"

Quinn laughed, "Of course! God, I feel like I'm talking to a stranger, how long has it been?"

"Awhile," Alex smiled. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too! I've kind of had my hands full, I feel bad for not calling."

"Oh, no, don't feel bad! I should feel bad. I could have called any time I wanted."

"It's fine. So, how's the tour?"

Alex sighed, "It's great, but... can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything."

"My tour is almost over... and I was wondering... should I come back to Tree Hill?"

"Yes, absolutely! I mean, if you want to. Why wouldn't you want to?"

She sighed again, "Chase."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Well... if you think you can handle being around him, then you should come. If not, don't."

"I don't think I could handle it..."

"Then just do whatever makes you feel comfortable."

Alex took a deep breath, "I need some more time to think about it." She sighed, "Okay, well, I'm just gonna sleep on it and I'll call you in the morning."

"Okay, talk to you later."

Alex was about to hang up until she remembered something, "Wait, one more thing?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you heard anyone in Tree Hill saying anything about sending me flowers? Roses?"

Quinn thought about it for a second, "Um... no, not that I can remember. Why?"

"No reason. I just... no reason. Uh, anyway, I gotta go, talk to you later. Bye."

"Bye, Alex! It was nice talking to you!"

Alex smiled, "Nice talking to you, too." Alex ended the call and looked over at the roses on the table. She got up and examined them for just a moment before she knocked the whole vase into the trash bin.

* * *

**(A/N):** _Yay! Chapter one! I hope you guys liked it! I'll try to post chapter two as soon as I can! Let me know what ships you would like to be endgame so I know what to write towards! Thanks for reading and please review! :)_


	2. The Lucky One

**(A/N):** _Yay! Chapter 2! This chapter is based off of track thirteen on Taylor's album. The song was the inspiration to Alex's story line in this chapter. If you haven't heard it, you should listen to it! It's one of my personal favorites on the album and although the context of the song doesn't exactly match the story line I made from it, it is a little similar. So, I hope you enjoy! I wasn't really sure if I was going to finish the chapter by the weekend because I'm not really sure how long is too long for you guys to wait. So I decided I'd have the chapter up in a week. I'll probably take a week between each chapter if I have time for that and if you guys are okay with that._

_Anyway though, enough of that, I hope you like this chapter! :)_

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**Chapter 2: The Lucky One**

Mia was sitting at the piano, fiddling with the petals on an orchid Haley had bought to brighten up the studio. She leaned back and sighed as she looked at the clock. Chris was supposed to be there an hour ago and so was Haley. Mia was getting pretty fed up of waiting around and she figured if no one else cared about recording this track, she shouldn't either. As Mia picked up her bag and started to head out, an irritatingly familiar voice busted through the doors of the studio.

"All right! Chris Keller is here! Let's make some magic!" Chris strutted in with his arms wide open, as if he was expecting some sort of praise.

Mia sat back down at the piano, "Well, well. If it isn't Chris Keller. Fashionably late as always, hm?"

"Of course." Chris looked around the room, "Hey, uh... where's Haley?"

"I don't know. She hasn't showed up yet. Pretty sure she has much better things to do then help us record some stupid duet."

Chris turned around to look at Mia, "Well, if Haley isn't here you just wanna bail?"

"Uh," Mia stood up slowly and grabbed her bag, "Sure. I mean, if you wanna. Do you?"

Before Chris could reply, Haley rushed in. "I am so sorry I'm late, you guys. Lydia's sitter couldn't make it and Brooke needed help at the cafe and..." Haley took a breath, "Anyway, it doesn't matter. Are you guys ready to record?" Mia sighed as she sat back down and Chris groaned. Haley looked at the pair, "I'll take that as a no?" Neither of them said anything, "Come on, you guys. What's the matter?"

Mia sat up, "Nothing, Haley. It's just..."

Haley interrupted, "Look, I know you guys aren't exactly thrilled about singing this duet, but considering you two are some of the biggest names on the label, you guys really need to get used to working with one another. Trust me, working on this duet is going to be good for both of you, okay? Okay." Since Haley didn't really give either of them a choice, they both nodded in agreement. "Relax guys, it'll be over before you know it. All right, now both of you go into the booth and I'll get everything cued up."

Mia and Chris walked over to the booth and Chris stepped in front of Mia to hold the door open. He gestured into the booth, "Ladies first."

Mia smiled as she walked in, "Thanks."

"Any time." Chris smiled back and followed after her.

**xxxxx**

"Alex, c'mon. We're in Charleston! Last show of the tour! Up and at 'em!" Mike tore the duvet off of Alex that she was using as she slept on the couch of the tour bus. "What are you doing?"

Alex sat up and sighed, "Trying to sleep."

"Why?"

"Because then," Alex yawned, "I won't have to perform tonight and I can stay on the road forever."

Mike smiled, "Come on, Alex. We both knew this tour was gonna end sometime. Unfortunately, today is the day. I'm sorry."

Alex sat up, "I know. I just don't want it to end. I like my life now. I like being on the road. And I _love_ performing in front of people."

"You don't have to give all of that up. I told you, you don't even have to go back to Tree Hill. You can come with me. To L.A. and you can record your next album there. I'm sure I could book you a couple of gigs, too. Maybe you could film another movie."

Mike sat down next to Alex and she smiled at him, "I would love to go to L.A. with you. More than anything, but... I can't keep doing this."

"Doing what?"

"_This_. You know, running away from my problems. All it does is make things worse."

"You aren't running away from anything." Mike took Alex's hand and held it in his.

Alex looked down at her hand that was not intertwined with Mike's. She looked up at him and turned away when she saw the look in his eyes. "I'm not doing this."

"Alex."

"No, I'm not ready. I-I told you I just got out of a serious relationship. And I'm... I'm not ready so just... okay?"

Mike scoffed, "I'm sorry, you _just_ got out of a serious relationship? Wasn't that, like, a year ago?"

"It's only been eight months."

"Listen, Alex, I love you. But you're killing me here. If you don't want to be with me just say so. I'm not going to waste my time with you leading me on."

"What? Leading you on?" Alex snatched her hand back.

Mike laughed, "Don't act surprised. And don't pretend I haven't noticed you flirting with me all the time."

"I-I haven't been flirting with you. I mean, you know... maybe I have but... we're just friends. You know that."

"Yeah. I thought I did. But you know, maybe we're not even that anymore."

"What?"

Mike stood up and started towards the door, "Tonight is the last show of the tour. After that, you can go back to Tree Hill and find a new manager. Because, I'm not dong this anymore."

Alex chased after him, "Mike! Wait! Don't go!" Mike hopped off the bus and once Alex had reached the door, it had slammed in her face. Which was enough to make her burst into tears. She thought about following him but figured it was pointless. There was nothing she could say. Alex took a minute to regain her composure and then walked into the bathroom to get ready for the show.

**xxxxx**

Haley pressed the talk back button and spoke into the microphone, "You guys ready?" Mia and Chris put on the headphones that were hanging off the mics and they both gave Haley a thumbs up signal. "Okay, good, so what I'm looking for from the both of you is... I want to see a spark between you two. Because if I can see it, then the audience will be able to hear it. You know? So when you sing the song this time, you guys can't just pretend that you _tolerate_ each other. Okay? For the next three minutes you two need to pretend that you are falling in love and you can't be apart from each other. Like the love you two share is new and it's exciting." Haley took her finger off the button and looked and Chris and Mia. By their expressions, she could tell that they really weren't grasping what she was saying.

Haley sighed and put her finger back on the button, "Okay, I know you two have experienced love before, right? Er, well... Mia, you have, right?" Mia smiled and nodded. "Okay, and do you remember how you felt when you started to fall in love and how you felt about that person. And pretend you are feeling those feelings for Chris. And Chris? You try to do the same. Okay, you guys ready?"

Once they both gave Haley the "OK" she started the music. Mia took a deep breath. She wanted to get this over with as much as Chris did. So she was determined to give her best on this recording so it would be the last one they had to do. The only way she was going to do that is if she did exactly what Haley said and tried to feel the feelings she felt when she fell in love for the first time. Which meant she had to think about Chase, and she didn't want to do that. She had also been pretty determined to not think about Chase that way anymore. Mia did still have feelings for him and she hoped that if she just ignored them, that they would go away. But she'd had these feelings for so long she knew they weren't going to go away. At least not anytime soon so she figured she might as well make some use out of it.

Mia thought back to when her and Chase first got together. When she was making her first album and it always felt like they were the only two people in the world. She looked over at Chris and pretended that they were the only two people in the world. Mia started to sing the first line of the song and then Chris joined in.

As they got further and further through the song Mia kept trying to pull from all those feelings she'd had for Chase but it wasn't working anymore. Towards the end of the song, Mia looked at Chris and he looked her. He smiled at her and then she felt it. Static. All of those feelings she had felt for Chase for so long had finally just vanished. And when she looked at Chris again, she really felt like they were the only two people in the world. She no longer had to think about having all these feelings. She just felt them. And they weren't for Chase.

Once they had finished the recording and the music stopped, Mia was speechless. She was frozen by her newfound infatuation and she wasn't sure she liked it.

Haley stood up, "You guys! That was amazing!" Haley ran over to the booth and opened the door. "That one is definitely a keeper. You guys were fantastic."

Chris took his headphones off and laughed. "Hey. What can I say?"

Haley smiled and looked over at Mia, "Mia, _you_ were _so_ amazing!" Mia forced a smile. "Mia? What's wrong? Shouldn't you be excited?"

Mia looked up at Haley and slowly took off her headphones. "No, yeah... Yeah, I am. I'm happy we don't have to record another take. We... we don't have to record another take, do we?"

Haley shook her head, "No. Definitely not! That one was perfect!"

Mia smiled, "Good."

Haley walked over to the recording booth, "Okay, so I'm going to go finalize the recording and then you two can go home for the day!"

Mia waved, "Thanks, Hales!"

Chris put his coat on and waved also, "Later, Haley!"

Mia put her hand around Chris' arm and pulled him back, "Wait, Chris." Mia started to whisper, "Can I... talk to you for a second?"

"Uh... not really."

"What? Why not?"

Chris shrugged, "Because... I want to go home. It's been a long day."

"What? Chris?"

"I'll talk to you tomorrow or something. I mean, is what you need to talk to me about so important that it can't wait til tomorrow?"

Mia scoffed, "Is what you need to do so important that it can wait five minutes?"

Chris sighed, "I'm sorry, but Chris Keller has a tight schedule. I have to record another song tomorrow so why don't you stop by and you can talk to me then?"

"Fine," Mia sighed. "Whatever." Chris walked out and Mia rolled her eyes. _What a jerk_. She thought, wondering why she thought she might actually have real feelings for him.

Mia walked over to the piano and grabbed her bag when Haley turned to her. Haley smiled, "Hey, Mia? Do you wanna hear the demo?"

Mia shrugged, "Why not? I don't have anything better to do."

Haley started to play the demo and right when Mia heard Chris' voice, she sighed breathlessly. All the feelings she thought she felt for Chris had come back again.

**xxxxx**

"Thank you, Charleston! You guys are amazing!" Alex shouted out into the audience before she took a second to take in all the applause. Her eyes began to water and she smiled and waved at the crowd until she walked off stage, when she had fully burst into tears that were both sad and happy. Alex was sad that the tour was over, but also happy to have had the experience. She knew there was absolutely no feeling like it and she wasn't going to to be able to experience it again for a long time.

Alex's assistant, Catherine, ran up to her. "Miss Dupre that was amazing! That was the best performance you did throughout the entire tour!"

Alex smiled, half-heartedly. "Thank you."

"What's wrong?" Catherine gasped, "Oh, something's wrong. What do you need?"

Alex sighed, "Nothing, Catherine. I'll be fine, really. I just need some air, okay?" Catherine nodded and Alex walked outside. The cold November air was a little too harsh and Alex didn't have a jacket. The cold air began to burn her eyes and cheeks. She quickly rubbed her hands together and blew hot air onto them to produce heat, all to no avail. Alex wasn't even sure why she was outside where it was freezing, but she didn't want to go back inside and she definitely didn't want to go back on the tour bus. She knew Mike would be there and she was pretty positive she was going to be avoiding him for the rest of her life.

Unfortunately, a few minutes later, Alex found that that wasn't going to be an option. Mike saw her leaning against the wall outside the center and walked over to her. "Hey, Alex." He slurred.

Alex turned to him, "Mike." She glanced at his demeanor and cocked an eyebrow, "Mike. Are you... have you been drinking?"

Mike put his arm out and leaned it against the wall. "Nooooo." He whispered.

Alex coughed, "Ugh, yes you have. I can smell the alcohol on your breath."

He shrugged, "Okay, maybe I have. But so what?" Alex rolled her eyes and pushed Mike out of the way as she started toward the tour bus. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" Alex stopped short, paralyzed with fear as she sensed the aggressiveness in Mike's voice.

Alex turned back to Mike, "I'm sorry, Mike. I'm really sorry."

"Prove it."

"What?"

Before Alex could even react, Mike put his arm around her waist and pulled her up against him. She gasped and Mike leaned his head in and pressed his lips up against hers. Alex tried to pull away but Mike was too strong. Suddenly Alex heard camera flashes and saw the flashes of light in the corner of her eye. Her heart leapt into her throat as she prayed to God that she wasn't the subject of the photographs.

Finally, Mike's grip loosened and Alex was able to pull away. As soon as she did, without hesitation, she slapped her hand across Mike's face right when she saw a camera flash right in front of her. Suddenly, a hoard of paparazzi appeared, as if from nowhere. Alex became overwhelmed again and stormed off again, back on the tour bus and locked the door behind her.

**xxxxx**

Mia still felt disoriented about her feelings and knew she had to talk to someone about it. Haley was too busy and Mia didn't want to bother her with her somewhat, in comparison, trivial problems. Mia walked out of Red Bedroom Records and into Tric. She smiled when she saw Chase. "Hey, Chase!" Mia called as she walked up to the bar.

Chase smiled, "Hey, Mia! So. I heard that the recording went well."

"You did? Who told you?"

"Chris."

Mia sat down at the bar, "He did? Well, did he... did he say anything else? What did he say exactly?"

"Uh... I don't remember. I just asked him how it went and he said that Haley said you both did really well."

"Was that all?"

"I think so... why?" Chase asked, puzzled.

Mia forced a laugh, "No reason, I just..." She sighed, "Chase?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I talk to you about something?"

Chase nodded, "Of course. Always."

Mia smiled, "Um, okay. It's a little personal. Um. When we broke up... how long did it take for you to... stop having feelings for me?"

Chase was speechless. He wasn't sure he _ever_ stopped having feelings for her. And even if he did, he wasn't sure he wanted to tell her. "Well, I don't _exactly_, you know? But I think... usually you stop having feelings for someone when you... get feelings for someone else."

Mia nodded, that wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear. "I see..." She whispered.

"Why, uh... why do ask?"

Mia shook her head, "No reason. I just... I gotta go. Thanks."

**xxxxx**

"I don't want it to be this way. If this is what it's gonna be like..." Alex whispered through her tears as she looked at the front page of the _National Inquirer_. It was a nice little shot of her and Mike with their lips smushed so close together, and then there was a little circle in the corner with the photo of Alex right after she had slapped Mike.

For the past week people had been speculating about the whole incident. Everyone was wondering why the award winning actress and aspiring country singer had kissed her manager and slapped him across the face. Mike was going to be interviewed later that day to supposedly clear the air. But Alex was positive that he wasn't going to tell the truth. Not after the way she left things.

Alex threw the magazine at the wall of the hotel she had rented for the week. She decided to rent a room the night of the concert so she could take some time to figure out what she wanted. And it had only been a week, but Alex was finally sure of what she wanted to do. She grabbed her cell phone off the nightstand and dialed Quinn's number. It rang twice and Quinn picked up.

"Quinn?" Alex breathed.

"Alex? Are you okay? You sound like you've been crying."

Alex shook her head, "No, I'm fine... I just wanted to tell you something."

"What is it?"

Alex smiled, "I've decided. I'm coming back to Tree Hill."

* * *

**(A/N):** _Woo! Chapter 2! Did you guys like it? I'm sorry if some of the grammar or something like that is wrong because I didn't really have time to proofread it, but I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to review! Let me know what you want to see in the upcoming chapters! :)_


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